Our Extensive Legacy
Legend and lore pair perfectly with bourbon. There’s something about America’s spirit that invites a good story. And when talking about a whiskey distillery that was founded in 1889, as ours was, that story has many chapters.
Details around early ownership eras are hazier than later ones, but we’re working with renowned journalists and historians to help flesh out everything we can, and we’ll be adding to this timeline as we complete interviews and scour archival records. To us, preserving the rich lineage of this land and those who toiled here is as important as producing exemplary whiskey.
Here are the broad historical strokes about Old Commonwealth Distillery.
Our History
1889
On the scenic banks of the Hammonds Creek, in Anderson County, Kentucky, a businessman named S.O. Hackley breaks ground for the distillery. The locale ticks all the right boxes: a limestone bedrock, a suitable clime, nestled in a valley for wider temperature fluctuations to aid the maturation process, and ample running water. The distillery’s sour mash bourbon was running at a mashing capacity of 15 bushels of grain per day.
1893
Four years into operations, Hackley partners with Ike and George Hoffman, selling half the interest of the distillery, and it rebrands as the Hoffman and Hackley Distillery. One year later, in 1894, Hackley sells the rest of his shares, and the facility becomes Hoffman Distilling Company. It’s the Hoffmans who are credited with creating iconic brands such as Old Hoffman and Old Spring, known for high quality.
1916
After a number of successful years, Hoffman falls on hard times, and the distillery files for bankruptcy in 1912 and shuts down.
1920
The temperance movement gains steam and spirits sales dwindle. Right before Prohibition begins in 1920, most of the Hoffman distillery is torn down.
1934
After the repeal of Prohibition, Lawrenceberg brothers Robert and Ezra Ripy purchase the property, and build a new distillery, rickhouses, and a bottling house. They keep the name Hoffman Distilling Company, though.
The Ripys are bourbon barons; Bob and Ez, as they’re known to friends and family, are two of 10 children of Thomas Ripy, a famed distiller from Lawrenceberg in the late 1800s. (Two of Bob and Erza’s brothers are also distillers, and ultimately start what becomes Wild Turkey, a few miles up the road from Hoffman.)
Bob is the numbers whiz, while Ezra is more of a marketing savant, and the two are the perfect pair to shepherd Hoffman through a booming period. For the next decade and a half, multiple variations and versions of whiskey are created, many are sold as white labels for other brands.
1957
As the Sixties near, whiskey is on the decline as a category. Some blame James Bond for popularizing vodka, though a more plausible explanation is that distillery consolidation after World War II was rough and, with only a few major players left, the lack of competition led to lazy production and a drop in quality.
One whiskey brand still thriving? Jack Daniel’s.
Sales of Jack Daniel’s skyrocketed 900% over the decade prior. Driving that brand affinity is Frank Sinatra and the rest of the Rat Pack, who drink Jack on stage and in movies, and are generally never out of arm’s reach of a bottle. When Brown Forman takes ownership of the brand in 1956, it isn’t able to keep up with the demand. A production shortage looms for Jack.
This seems like an opportunity to an entrepreneur named Frank Silverman, who comes to the Hoffman distillery to source and bottle whiskey. His aim? Emulate the bottle design and label of Jack Daniel’s to capture some of its market share. But what to call this new whiskey?
Erza Brooks.
While there’s no such person, rumor has it Ezra Ripy served as inspiration for half the moniker. Silverman’s ploy works, and Ezra Brooks is a smash success.
1960
Ezra Brooks is such a hit that Brown Forman sues Silverman, and the Hoffman distillery, citing trademark infringement of Jack Daniel’s. But a judge sides with Hoffman, and the distillery celebrates a significant legal victory, affirming its right to its unique branding and packaging. More Ezra Brooks rolls off the Hoffman production line.
1968
With the burgeoning popularity of Ezra Brooks, the Hoffman distillery is renamed the Ezra Brooks Distillery.
1976
Whiskey’s star is again dimming. Facing category-wide challenges, the Ezra Brooks brand is acquired by the Charles Medley distillery.
1979
Starting in the mid-Seventies, the Hoffman distillery ekes by relying on decanter sales, with 90 proof, 8-year straight bourbon among the more popular ones. However, the demand for America’s spirit simply isn’t there. In 1979, Hoffman shutters.
1983
In 1981, Diageo took over the Stitzel-Weller distillery, ending the Van Winkle family’s affiliation with the facility. Diageo begins to sell off old barrels of bourbon, made and laid down under Pappy Van Winkle’s watch, and his grandson, Julian Van Winkle III, spends years buying his grandfather’s barrels. But Julian needs a place to bottle them as Old Rip Van Winkle products.
In 1983, Van Winkle purchases the dormant Hoffman distillery and christens it Commonwealth Distillery. For nearly two decades, Van Winkle works tirelessly to bottle and sell his family’s whiskey reserves. He doesn’t know it then, but what he’s bottling will become some of the world’s most desired and coveted whiskey.
2002
Following a deal with Buffalo Trace for it to bottle and sell Van Winkle products, Julian Van Winkle shutters Commonwealth Distillery. It’s soon purchased by Lou DeFino, a local sign maker who uses the facilities as his workshop.
2019
Zachary Joseph and Andrew English, a nephew and uncle who are enamored with the Commonwealth Distillery’s history and its venerable products, purchase it. Along with family friend and partner Troy LeBlanc, the trio aim to revive the facility, calling it Old Commonwealth. They’ll relaunch the iconic labels the distillery once produced, while memorializing and preserving the facility’s heritage. Committed to offering the finest bourbon and ryes, a meticulous sourcing operation is underway to ensure that each new expression upholds the high bar of quality.
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